NEW YORK, September 30. /TASS/. Invading Lebanon is unlikely to bring Israel to a victory over Hezbollah, instead only reinforcing the group’s reason for being, Bloomberg columnist Marc Champion said.
"The success of Israel’s air campaign against Hezbollah has opened a window of opportunity to destroy the <…> group, but another Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon is unlikely to achieve that goal. It would instead renew the group’s reason for being," he wrote.
"There may be only a very short window for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to develop a still missing political strategy to end the war and win the peace. If he did, he’d enjoy the backing of powerful players, from the US to Saudi Arabia and the majority of a Lebanese population that’s sick of crisis," he went on to say.
However, Netanyahu’s recent speech at a UN General Assembly "gave no sign that he will," Champion said. In the speech, the Israeli prime minister said Israel will continue military pressure on Hezbollah and hostilities in Gaza.
On September 17 and 18, numerous explosions of communication devices and other electronic gadgets swept across Lebanon, setting off a new wave of escalation between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanese group blamed Israel for the incidents. Israel did not comment directly on the device detonations, but announced it was intensifying military operations in the north. On September 23, Israel started a military operation codenamed Northern Arrows against Hezbollah in Lebanon, carrying out widespread strikes at the group’s military sites. The stated goal is to create a secure environment in areas near the Israeli northern border, so that tens of thousands of people could return to their homes. In a strike on September 27 Israel eliminated Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.